Ich helfe Ihnen, Ihr gesprochenes Englisch zu perfektionieren, wann und wie es für Sie am Praktischen ist.
Last week the schools started again after the summer holidays. Some kids are going back to what they know but others are starting in new classes or even new schools. There are new challenges, with maybe even a whole new location, new teachers, and classmates. For us adults, this time of year usually means getting … Continue reading A New Start or Back to Work
It may be hard but [1] never say die. You still [2] stand a chance. Before you know it things will [3] take off and you’ll be [4]on a roll. Maybe you’ll even [5]make it big. Who knows what the future will hold. They say [6] fortune favours the bold! You’ve already [7] come a … Continue reading Idioms for when you’re feeling hopeful
I’m feeling pretty [1] ticked off. If I hadn’t excused myself and gone outside I would really have [2]flown off the handle. I came into work in a good mood but the boss came in and [3]bit my head off for no reason. Since when has being five minutes late to work been a problem? … Continue reading Idioms for when you’re angry
Hello my dears. I hope this post finds you well. Today I’m going to write about those pesky words “watch” “look” and “see”. Literal meanings – a recap “See” simply means to use your eyes. “Look” means “to turn our eyes in a particular direction to see something”. (Cambridge) “Watch” means “to look at or … Continue reading Watching out for “look” “watch” and “see”
Hello, I hope this blog post finds you well. Last week a student directed me to an article with some lovely false friends. I thought I might share the deadliest with you today and add a couple of my own. Undertaker – Unternehmer This is my favourite of all the false friends. An “undertaker” is: … Continue reading Some very deadly false friends …
Soooo I promised you a part two to my present perfect simple blog post. Here it is, but you’re going to have to work for it. Look at these sentences: Queen Elizabeth the second is a wonderful leader. She has been an inspiration to the people of Britain for many years. She lived in Buckingham … Continue reading Death and Americans: present perfect simple, part II
I remember exactly when McDonalds adopted “I’m loving it!” as their slogan. I was working in Cologne. It must have been in 2001 or 2002. I was just coming home after a long day of teaching stative verbs, you know, the ones you can’t put in the continuous (to be/-ing) form. The verbs that describe: … Continue reading “I’m lovin’ it!”, or: Why English teachers hate McDonalds.
There’s no better place to find English bloopers than on Tinder. For some reason many users of this app decide to introduce themselves to potential lovers using a language which they, at best, find it difficult to communicate in. Perhaps the most misleading of these errors is the misuse of the present continuous. Let’s cut … Continue reading Present continuous mistakes, or: English for Tinder users
There are some words that I see wrong so often in English texts here in Switzerland that I begin to doubt my sanity. Maybe you can say “informations”, “feedbacks”, “advices” and “accommodations” in English? No way! (A quick look in my grammar Bible brings me back to reality). You just can’t. These words are uncountable … Continue reading Mistakes with uncountable nouns